CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Cuts Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its position in NiSource by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.33.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI stock opened at $37.23 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The company has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.09.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.